Contents

Synopsis

"Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, WHITE BOY RICK is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison."[4]

Production

In February 2015, Studio 8 acquired a spec script by Logan Miller and Noah Miller, titled White Boy Rick.[5] The script was produced independently of "Trials of White Boy Rick" writer Evan Hughes, who has stated on Twitter that "The film used my work without pay nor credit."[6]

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released on January 12, 2018,[16] but was pushed back two weeks from its original release date of January 12, 2018, to January 26, 2018,[17] and was pushed back again from January 26, 2018, to August 17, 2018, after successful test screenings.[15] In April 2018 it was pushed back again from August 17, 2018, to September 14, 2018.[18] It had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018.[19][20] It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018.[21]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, White Boy Rick was released alongside The Predator, A Simple Favor and Unbroken: Path to Redemption, and was projected to gross $5–9 million from 2,504 theaters in its opening weekend.[22] It ended up debuting to $8.8 million, finishing fourth behind The Predator, The Nun and A Simple Favor.[23] It dropped 43% in its second weekend to $5 million, finishing sixth.[24]

Critical response

On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Solid work from the cast - particularly a scene-stealing Matthew McConaughey - helps White Boy Rick make up for a number of missed opportunities in the script."[25] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 64% positive score and a 44% "definite recommend".[23]